Never let your fear decide your fate
by wordcandy
Summary: Hermione and Draco have the hots for each other. He flaunts it, she denies it. At least until she gets some unexpected advice from a stranger.


**A/N: So, This just kinda popped into my head while listening to Awolnation's Kill Your Heroes. Anyway, This is my first Fic so PLEASE review, and don't sugar coat. **

Hermione looked down at her packed bags and just knew she was forgetting something but couldn't put her finger on what it was. With a sigh she shrunk them down and slipped them into her purse, whatever it was she was forgetting, it couldn't be that important and it wasn't like she would be gone forever. She would be back in her room in the Heads' dorm in two weeks at the end of Christmas Holiday. She walked out of her room and started down the stairs.

"Malfoy?" She called out to the head boy, "If you're here I just wanted to let you know I'm leaving!" There was no response. "Well, I guess he's not here." She thought to herself and started to push the portrait door open right was it was being opened from the other side. The sudden lack of the door's resistance caused her to lose her balance and she stumbled forward into a pair of strong arms.

"Anxious to see me eh Granger?" Malfoy asked with a smirk

"N-no. . . I w-was just leaving actually." Hermione stumbled over her words. Good god he was gorgeous! His platinum blonde hair hung in his blinding silver eyes. He was wearing a black sweater and dark jeans that hung low on his hips, the things she could do to this boy. . .

"Really? Because I think you need to be standing up on your own to go anywhere."

Hermione shook her head to get her mind out of the gutter. "Oh. Uhm. . . Right, thanks"

He chuckled and set her upright, not insuring she had her footing before he let her go and had to reach out and catch her again. "It seems to me like you don't really want to go anywhere." He leaned down, his lips a mere inch from her ear and whispered, "If you just can't bring yourself to leave me, you could always come home with me."

Her mouth hung open at his invitation, as gorgeous as he was and despite the fact that he had switched sides in the war he was still Draco Malfoy. She may know that he wasn't the same foul loathsome evil little cockroach that he used to be, but her friends didn't trust him. Being with him would mean choosing between him, the boy who had ridiculed, humiliated, and had been just plain wretched to for the past 6 years; and her friends. She shook her head and righted herself, clearing her throat she said, "Thanks again, but I really do need to go. I'll see you at the end of Holiday." She stepped around him and was walking through the door when he called out

"If you change your mind, my invitation stands Hermione."

She turned around with a small smile, "Good bye Draco."

"Miss, are you alright?"The strange voice ripped Hermione from her memory of the previous day.

"I'm sorry what was that?" She asked the elderly gentleman who had gotten her attention. She had been in a daze since she got on the subway twenty minutes ago

"I asked if you were alright, you seem troubled."

"Oh yes, just lost in my own head." She replied with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"I see, well I know you haven't asked my advice, but here it is anyway. Whatever it is that you're thinking about doing, go ahead and do it. Life's short, never let your fear decide your fate."

"What if what I'm afraid of is hurting the people I care about?"

"I'm sure whatever it is that's troubling you isn't as serious as you're making it out to be. They'll understand and when it's all said and done they'll still love you, so go on don't be afraid." The gentleman got up as his stop was called.

She smiled at him, a real smile this time. "Thank you." She got off at her stop and headed for the Leaky Cauldron. She walked in and sat at a table, pulling a quill and parchment from her bag

_Ginny,_

_I'm thinking about doing something incredibly stupid, stop freaking out. Its not dangerous, just plain stupid. I just wanted to ask that you don't hate me when you find out what it is I've done._

_-Hermione_

She took he letter to the bar and had it owled. She ordered a pumpkin juice and waited for a reply. Nearly an hour later it arrived.

_Hermione,_

_I don't know what it is you're thinking of doing but the fact that you practically asked permission first means it must be something big. Of course I won't hate you. None of us will, we love you. Obviously more than you know. Anyway I want details when whatever it is you're doing is done._

_-Ginny_

She quickly grabbed the letter and stuffed it in her bag before walking outside to make her way to Malfoy Manor, using the walk as her last chance to change her mind, she thought about the fact that they had hated each other for years and then remembered how kind he had been to her since becoming head boy. "He's probably just toying with me. Or trying to keep his living situation tolerable."She grumbled to herself as another part of her mind spoke up, "Or he actually does like me and I'm just too hard headed to accept it." She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't realize she had arrived until she actually passed it. She sighed, turned around and headed for the front door. She took a deep breath and knocked. She waited a long moment before she knocked again and heard an all too familiar voice yelling from the other side of the door.

"Oh no, I'll get it. . . Nobody get up. . . It's not like I pay you to answer the bloody door or anything!" The door swung open and his anger vanished, replaced with a mix of confusion, desire, and joy. "I honestly didn't expect you to take me up on my offer. What changed your mind?" He leaned against the door jamb as he awaited her answer

"Never let your fear decide your fate."

He looked puzzled, "What are you tal. . ."

Hermione cut him off by standing up on her tip toes, grabbing his shirt, yanking him to her and crashing her lips to his.

**A/N: Sooooo? Stop it here? Keep it going? Come on people, I need some advice.**


End file.
